If there is one word that the members of TU/e's Central Crisis Team (CTT) and Crisis Communication Team think of when reflecting on how the university has handled the corona crisis so far, it is pride. They are proud of the entire community because the pandemic affected the organization all the way to its core. "We did it together, as one team with a single task - manage everything and communicate with everyone, as best we could. I'm immensely proud of that," says Floor Keijsers.
Corona program manager Corine Spoor-Kolvenbag starts by saying she is a little uncomfortable with the three interviewees being chosen as 'heroes of the month' in this series. She is joined by Gijs Spiele, technical chairman of the Central Crisis Team, and Floor Keijsers, a member of the Crisis Communication Team. "You may be talking to us, but we're surrounded and backed by entire teams that worked tirelessly. Throughout the university, a lot of people have put in extra effort to ensure that education and research could continue. So there are many heroes working at our university," says Spoor-Kolvenbag empathically.
Thrown in the deep end
Gijs Spiele had barely started in his new position as Campus Manager Safety & Security on March 1, 2020, when COVID-19 proved to be more than just a rapidly spreading flu in Asia. Within days, the Central Crisis Team was activated: an influential delegation including department and faculty directors, rector Frank Baaijens, university secretary Susanne van Weelden, and Spiele as technical chairman. "In a normal onboarding process, I never would've made the contacts with the management within our university as quickly as I did in my role on the CCT. That's invaluable to me."
At the time, no one could have imagined how long this pandemic would lastGijs Spiele, Campus Manager Safety & Security
On March 6, the first-ever TU/e-wide corona mail was sent. Those first emails were still relatively concise - it advised people to stay home if they did not feel well and to not shake hands. The approach was that as much teaching as possible should continue. That message, and email lengths, quickly changed when a mere six days later, on March 12, it was decided to close the campus.
All classes had to go online. To make that happen, a tuition-free week was instituted. Working from home became the entire community's slogan. "We could never have imagined that COVID-19 would have such an impact on the university, right down to our organization's core. It touched everyone," says Spoor-Kolvenbag.
As Communication advisor for Education and Student Affairs (ESA), Floor Keijsers was closely involved, from the very first moment, in communicating what was happening during the corona crisis. She vividly remembers the evening of March 11: "We were on campus until late, working on that email. We had a quick bite to eat and kept working until the email was ready. Not realizing that it would be the first of many." Spiele adds, "No one could ever have imagined how long this would go on, or what a far-reaching, global impact this pandemic would have."
Stopping wasn't an option; people needed to know what was going onFloor Keijsers, ESA Communication Advisor
Keijsers was the linking pin between the education organization, ESA, and the Communication Expertise Center (CEC). "I met with the Crisis Communication Team and the ESA managers every day. What's going on? What do we have to do to keep classes going? There was so much to arrange - you want students to experience as few delays as possible. I heard everything from both fronts. We sent an ESA newsletter with updates to the program directors, managers, and deans every single day."
In the early days, the CCT worked around the clock to translate all the government's measures for our university - and communicate them. "It was tremendously nerve-wracking, but stopping wasn't an option because people had to know what was going on and what they should or shouldn't do," says Keijsers.
Coordination and communication
Coordination and communication were key words. Spiele: "We had to coordinate internally, with the municipality, with the university association VSNU, with the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, with public transport companies, and the Municipal Health Service. How many protocols did we see...". "Stacks," adds Spoor-Kolvenbag, laughing. "It went on and on; there was change upon change. Every press conference meant adjusting our protocols."
"We often had a pretty good idea of what was coming before the press conferences happened. We would get ourselves ready then. But then, so many details would come up that we'd have to start from scratch," says Spoor-Kolvenbag. They, after all, have to continuously and quickly inform the university community about what the new measures meant for them.
The messages' tone was also a topic of discussion. Spiele: "We received feedback that we weren't being clear enough. Students, in particular, felt that we weren't involving them enough or showing their situation enough understanding. A separate working group that included student representatives ensured that our emails became clearer and more personal. There was more connection, teamwork, and solidarity, which was great to see."
The webcare team played an especially important role in deciphering what was going on with students and employees. Keijsers: "Which concerns should we omit, what tone should we use? We fine-tuned this for each new email."
We kept thinking, 'what ís allowed?'Gijs Spiele, Campus Manager Safety & Security
It was clear what you could not and must not do. The CCT, however, tried to remain positive, says Spiele. "We kept thinking, 'What ís allowed?' We continually brainstormed with ESA director Patrick Groothuis, community manager Erik de Jong, student diversity officer Lara Hofstra, and the Student Associations Federation about that. They set up activities to connect mainly with our students who were sitting alone in their rooms. Those activities ranged from having a cup of coffee, and the HearMe helpline, to small group workshops, when that was allowed again."
"That was particularly important for our international students because they had fewer local contacts," adds Keijsers. "We heard many harrowing tales of loneliness within this group. That, too, is of importance to a CCT," says Spiele. "We couldn't change the rules, but we could try to make things just that little bit nicer. To help people feel like they're not alone," says Keijsers.
The phases of the crisis
Upon reflection, there were several phases to the corona crisis. The first, crisis mode, was from March to May. "In May, we learned that the pandemic could last a long time. What did that mean for the CCT and TU/e? We then adopted a more programmatic approach. Corine was appointed for that," says Spiele. "We needed to connect with the operational line organization; to return to normal structures."
Spoor-Kolvenbag then quickly set up the Team Operations, which included representatives from the different departments. This team worked on elaborating and implementing the decisions the CCT took.
In the second phase - from May to July 2020 - preparations were made for the phased reintroduction of on-campus research. These plans were then scaled back just as quickly in the third phase. That was when COVID-19 hit with all its might during the summer. "Then things were even stricter than in the first phase," says Spiele.
From January 2021 to September, the focus shifted back to restarting on-campus lessons. "We had to think about what this situation meant in terms of setting up buildings, signing, and communication," says Spoor-Kolvenbag.
ON THE THE HOMEFRONT
Looking back, all three say they were 'on' all the time during that initial period. The balance between work and home and their 'normal' work was sometimes precarious. Keijsers: "My boyfriend and I both worked from home. Our three-year-old son could no longer go to daycare. I went from one online meeting to another and worked late into the night. I sometimes struggled to find a good balance". It was also hard for her to switch between her corona work and her other work. "If colleagues emailed me with a question about my 'normal' work, I had to make it clear that COVID-19 took priority."
I sometimes wondered how I could ensure that my faculty work, too, kept running smoothlyCorine Spoor-Kolvenbag, program manager corona
The other two recognize that feeling. Spoor-Kolvenbag, deputy director of business operations at the faculties of Electrical Engineering and Applied Physics, tried to combine those tasks: "I was supposed to spend two days a week doing program management. Someone was hired to take over some of my faculties' work. But there was so much happening, and I had to coordinate everything. I sometimes wondered how I could ensure that my faculty work, too, kept running smoothly." It was nothing unusual to work 70, 80 hours a week. "Things have returned to normal since this summer. Now it's back to only 50 hours," she adds, laughing.
For Spiele, the main issue was that, in the initial phase, he did not have enough time to get to know his team properly or give regular business operations the attention they deserved. "That required a lot of shuffling. I had more of a connection with the Executive Board and my fellow directors through my work in the CCT than with my own team. While they were some of those people who had to be on campus. To them, it felt like I was only working on corona, which I found very difficult. They were fascinating weeks that turned into months and, in the end, almost years. I learned a lot, and I think we, as an organization, emerged much stronger too."
Proud of all the heroes
Spoor-Kolvenbag, Keijsers, and Spiele repeatedly point out that the university has many 'heroes'. "The Communication Expertise Center was vital. Managing a crisis is all about communication, after all. But Information Management and Services also played a major role. The same goes for the Facility Management Center," Spiele says. "And don't forget Real Estate. They did a lot of work calculating the ventilation requirements and figuring out which standards we had to meet. And ESA has done a tremendous job of constantly considering the various scenarios to keep education going as well as possible," adds Spoor-Kolvenbag.
Spiele: "It doesn't come down to one person, service, or department - we did this as TU/e as a whole. It's a true team effort." Keijsers: "It feels great to be surrounded by people who go out of their way to arrange everything. I'm honored to have participated in that." "Everyone understands that you can't get something like this done alone. You have to do it together, and when that works, it's something of which to be proud," says Spoor-Kolvenbag.
